Life
by Lindsmcgu
Summary: Clint and Natasha struggle through their lives together. From the time they became field partners to the time they became life partners they enjoy life-always together. Clintasha/Blackhawk
1. Chapter 1:The Meeting

"Step, breathe, step, breathe..." As the infamous Black Widow ran for her life her training kicked in, forcing her to go faster and faster. As she sprints faster and faster she reflects back onto how she got here. She was on mission as always-the Red Room scum never letting her have any time off-where she had to do her normal routine, seduce and kill. This time was different though, as she was working her magic she noticed something-or someone-lurking in the rafters. She continued to seduce as to not draw suspicion from her tail but she continued to stealthily inspect him.

The Black Widow noticed the tail was a man, well built, with what appeared to to be a bow and arrow in his possession. As she continued to multitask she ran the man against her memories of enemy operatives coming up with the answer that he was the equally infamous Hawkeye. She knew he was here for her, but she was okay with that. She did not fear death as she had been living in hell since she was four. After the mission she walked out ready for him, and she could tell he was there, so she ran to let him know she knew. That's how she got herself here, running faster and faster trying to lose the tail but not really. In the back of her mind she hoped she was caught by Hawkeye, it would be an honorable death which is better than she deserved as she had a very UNhonorable life.

As the Blackwidow ran she came to realize she was being herded into a dead end. Knowing this was it she took a moment to send a last prayer to her mother and father in heaven, as she knew there was no praying in Hell. As she came to the dead end she turned to face Hawkeye only to get and arrow through her shoulder. She cried out in pain and Hawkeye came down to greet her agony.

"Hello Blackwidow." He said without the malice she expected.

"Go put an eggbeater up your ass Hawkeye" she replied with malice.

The veins in Hawkeye's neck became more apparent as he held in his snippy remark. He was here to kill, not chat.

"I'll get right on that, but first I have to kill you"

"Good luck with that." she smirked as she pulled out the arrow without even a whimper and flew off once again.

"It can never be easy," thought Hawkeye wistfully before pulling out four arrows and pinning the Blackwidow to the wall before she could even blink. A cry of frustration escaped her lips as she was pinned once again to the wall. Hawkeye sauntered over and notched his arrow, he aimed it at her head and was about to let it fly, but then he noticed something. A gleam in the stone-cold Blackwidow's eye. It was a look that Hawkeye had long ago, the look that said that you needed saved, but couldn't do it yourself. When he saw that look Hawkeye ignored his kill orders and went over to the Blackwidow.

"So I've decided not to kill you," he exclaimed with triumph, only to be met with confusion.

"And why would that be?" She questioned animatedly.

"Because I was you once, lost in myself, doing things I didn't want to do but had to do. I know my life is probably nowhere near as bad as yours currently is but I can help anyways. I'm going to take you back to S.H.E.I.L.D with me, hopefully get you somewhere safe where you don't have to be treated as an object, but as a person. Please, come back with me." He whispered just loud enough for her to hear. With that he took out the arrows, turned on his homing beacon so S.H.E.I.L.D. would come pick him up and handcuffed the Blackwidow.

"You know I could get out of these in less than 10 seconds, right?" She asked weakly.

"Yes, but I don't think you will." He replied without a second thought. She knew he was right, but it still hurt her pride a little that he trusted her this much. Deep down she knew it felt good to finally be trusted, it was just knew and weird, but she knew she could get used to this rather easily.


	2. Chapter 2:Names

They stood the alley waiting for the pickup to arrive without speaking. The Blackwidow sunk down the wall and sat on the ground mentally berating herself for being a traitor to the Red Room but she knew it was for the best. They were horrible to her, even when she was at the top she was still treated like a piece of shit and she hated it. She knew she needed out but they were all she ever knew, as messed up as it was they were her family and she hated that she wanted to leave them. She hated them but she hated herself more.

Hawkeye watched on the other side of the alley as the Blackwidow, the famous cold-hearted seductress that had killed so many before, tried to make herself smaller and smaller. He could only imagine what she was thinking about but he knew it wasn't good. As he scrolled through the many scenarios in his mind his curiosity finally got the best of him and he asked, "What are you thinking about?"

"Home, or at least what I considered to be home," she replied quietly.

"You don't have to worry about them anymore, we'll protect you," he reassured her.

She scoffed before replying, "Like you could stop them. If they really wanted to get me, they would have me before you could blink. What I'm trying to figure out is wether they'll even come get me."

He had no reply to that so he just stepped closer and laid a hand on her shoulder. He felt her tense and pull away from him but he said, "I'm sorry Blackwidow," anyway. After that little bit of conversation they both decided silence was the best option. Hawkeye went back to his side and she stayed over on her side.

After several minutes of silence the transport finally arrived. When they entered Hawkeye went up to the front and she was forced to stay handcuffed in the back.

Up in the cockpit Hawkeye was talking to his longtime friend and handler Phil Coulson.

"She looked like I did when you found me, I COULDN'T kill her Coulson!" Hawkeye whisper yelled.

"Fury is going to have your ass for this one Barton and I won't protect you this time. Not only did you not kill your target, you brought her home with you like a little pet. What are we going to do with her? Put her out in the field with the people she tried to kill. You may trust her, but nobody else does!" Coulson whisper yelled back.

"Thats the point Phil, nobody trusted me except you and now look at me. I trust her, I think she was just a good person in a bad position and I want to save her. Please Phil, I'm begging you."

After a few moments of silence Agent Coulson finally replied, "Clint, you take years off my life."

Clint grinned his signature goofy smirk and thanked Coulson profusely.

"Don't get too excited, you get to tell Fury." Coulson smirked and turned back to the controls, receiving a pained groan from his right. Coulson heard mumbling and grumbling as his top agent went to the back of the transport to talk to his pity case. "This better work out," Coulson thought to himself.

In the back of the transport Clint was working his way over to the Blackwidow.

"So..." He said trying like hell to buy some time. "I didn't catch your name before,"

"And..." she replied.

"And I would like to know it, please." He tried again.

"Natasha Romanoff" She replied hesitantly.

"Well Natasha, I'm Clint Barton. We're on our way to S.H.E.I.L.D."

"I know," She replied unfazed.

"And how would that be?" Clint questioned.

"Russia's top spy, remember?" She replied while pointing at herself.

"Oh yeah...I knew that I was just trying to be a polite host." He replied indifferently.

"What are we doing when we get there?" She pondered aloud.

"I though you knew everything?" He smirked causing the Blackwidow-now known as Natasha Romanoff-to give him a menacing glare that could scare even the toughest of men.

"Well, I'm not quite sure but you'll most likely go to an interrogation so they know you're not using us and I'll go try and explain to Director Fury why instead of killing my target I offered her refuge." He replied steadily.

"Okay then." She said as the transport finally docked on the Helicarrier.

"Please get up, I don't feel like carrying you around. It might send the wrong message." he said with a cheeky grin. She glared but did as he asked. As they exited the transport they caught sight of Fury making his way toward them with a look meaning immediate death. They both internally cringed as they made their way toward the fuming Director.

"YOU!" Fury boomed at Hawkeye, "My office NOW! And YOU can go over there where you belong," He said pointing to the prison. Six guards came over to take her to her own solitary confinement cell and Clint was taken by the ear to Fury's office. They didn't even catch a glance of the other before being pulled off to their separate punishments.


	3. Chapter 3: Questions

Natasha was in a room all to herself. It was a black room, void of all color which she knew they were trying to use to break her. What they didn't know was that she lived in solitude; she worked alone, lived alone, and spent most of every day alone. Solitude was her friend, not something that could break her. She had been in her room for a few days now, judging on how many meals she's been given it has been 3 days. They haven't questioned her yet so she figured they were trying to break her with the silence, but she could go forever alone. The strange thing about all of this is that she would tell them what they want to know anyway. She wasn't loyal to the Red Room anymore, and though she knew they would come for her eventually she also knew that she could take them. Natasha felt safe for the first time in a long time, so she sat and waited.

When Natasha was initially taken into the interrogation room Clint didn't even have time to think about whether she was okay because he had to deal with Fury.

"Sir I trust her, with all my heart I trust her." Fury was doing his one-eye glare, staring right at Clint. Clint fought the urge to fidget and just returned the look with more respect than malice. After several tense moments Fury let up on his stare and said, "Okay." Nothing more, just okay and then walked past a gaping Clint. Clint closed his mouth and with lightning speed left the room. He hated the Director's office because only one side was really decorated and it made it seem unbalanced and very strange. Clint was no stranger to the strange but Fury's office was one to make even the freakiest freak out. Once out of the office Clint went to his happy place-the shooting range. He pulled out his practice bow and arrows and went to work releasing perfect shot after perfect shot in a rapid precession. After half an hour of this Clint was drenched in sweat and went to take a shower, change, and get in some good sleep.

_Clint and his brother were at a bar having a good time, which was rare so Clint enjoyed it that much more. Suddenly Clint's brother-Rodney-grabbed him from behind and dragged him outside into a dark alley. "Here it comes" Clint thought to himself and with that Rodney started hitting him, first in the ribs, then the gut, then he slammed his head of the wall repetativly. "This is more violent than usual," Clint realized and grabbed the closest thing he could to get his brother off of him. Just as he started to see black around the edges of his vision he felt something. He brought it back against his brother's head and heard a crack as Rodney's grip loosened. Turning around he saw blood start to pool around Rodney's head. "Rod? Rodney?" Clint said as he shook Rodney. "Rodney, come on this isn't funny, get up." Clint shook harder but got no response. Suddenly lights started pointing down the alley and Clint did the only thing he could think of he ran, and ran, and ran..._

Clint woke with a start with tears in his eyes and Rodney's name on his mind. He missed his brother, he was mean but her was all Clint have. It was an accident when he killed Rodney but that was his first kill. It was why he joined the Army instead of staying in the circus, it was how he got started into killing, and it was something he wished he could take back every single day of his life. Clint stayed in his room composing himself for a few moments, shoving his feeling behind his mental walls and trying to force them to stay there. He went out of the room and checked his phone for the first time that day and saw one message from Coulson, "Go home. You have 3 days off. Go home, sleep, be a normal human. -C" So he did just that, He went home and shot some arrows in his tiny apartment at random object, watched some spy movies and critized their technique, then slept and repeated...for three days...he needed a life...badly. On day three Clint was thankfully called in, they wanted him to be the first to talk to Romanoff.

When Clint got to S.H.E.I.L.D. he made a beeline for the cells, thankful to finally have something to do. He strode confidently into the cell and sat down across from the deadly Blackwidow. He took out his phone to look at the questions he was supposed to ask and then got right to it.

"Hello again."

"Hello Agent Barton."

"Okay, so, what is your full name?"

"Natasha Alisa Romanoff."

"Is that an alias?"

"Yes."

"What is your real name?" This received a pause and finally a weak,

"I don't know." Clint searched her eyes but she had too many walls up for him to tell anything so he just went to the next question.

"How old are you?" receiving another pause he looked up at her.

"I think 24."

"You think" He questioned slowly.

"I'm not positive, but I believe 24." He looked at her with a look that said "I'm so sorry" and at the same time asked, "What is the matter with you". She hated it.

"Please stop looking at me like that." He coughed into his hand and continued.

"How long have you worked for the Red Room?"

"Most of my life, 20 years is my estimate." The unsure tone of her voice was there again but he decided it would be better not to ask this time.

"Why did you come so peacefully?"

"I needed an out and this seemed like a pretty good one."

"Where is the closest Red Room base?"

"We're in the air..."

"Okay then where in the closest one to New York?"

"5627 Abbey Court."

"Are you willing to kill Red Room operatives?"

She scoffed and replied, "With the utmost pleasure."

"Okay thats it, except one piece of information. I'm going to be your new partner. I just decided that so I still have to get permission but I suggest you get used to this beautiful face." And with that he left, leaving her slightly stunned.

"Okay." She whispered to herself.


	4. Chapter 4: Packing

After the interrogation Natasha was released and warned that if they got even the slightest hint that she was still working for the Red Room they wouldn't hesitate to detain or even execute her. She internally laughed at their pathetic attempt to intimidate her but on the outside she kept her face blank and nodded to let them know she understood. They then told her to report to her quarters and get changed into a S.H.E.I.L.D. mandated uniform.

Natasha left the room in search of her quarters. Along the way she felt the stairs of many on her, only one person approached her though-Barton.

"Where you headed?" Barton asked innocently.

"To my quarters to change," Romanoff answered quickly and emotionlessly, something she had perfected over the years.

"Let me assist you," He replied in a tone that left no room for argument.

"Okay," was the only response he could get out of the now ex-russian spy.

He led her to her quarters not even bothering with small talk along the way knowing she wasn't into that kind of thing. By the time they got to her quarters he had though gotten up the courage to ask her one thing.

"What should I call you?"

"Agent Romanoff is fine," she said not missing a beat.

"Too long...how about Nat?" She held back a shiver as the memories that that name held came rushing up and quickly shook her head no.

"Ash?" She gave him a look of disgust and confusion even.

"Yeah I guess that doesn't really make sense...Tasha?"

"How about we just stick with Romanoff and go from there?"

"Okay...Tasha." He replied giving her a cheeky grin. She found that she actually liked this smile, most of the smiles she gets are laced with desire and lust, but his wasn't. It was a friendly smile. She laughed at his grin, causing it only to grow and become that much more adorable. On that note she bid him ado and went into her room to change. After the door closed they both let down some walls and reminisced in the fact that they had both finally made an almost friend, something neither had had in a long time. The only friend Clint had was Coulson and Natasha had no live friends to speak of so this one small victory meant a lot to both of them. Natasha changed into her tight black S.H.E.I.L.D. uniform swiftly and went back outside. As she turned to go she bumped right into Clint-only half on accident-and Clint caught her as she stumbled.

"Falling for me already?" Clint joked with a cheeky grin. Natasha playfully jabbed him in the rib getting a wince from Clint. She regained her balance and stood up.

"Why are you still here?" Natasha pondered aloud. Clint floundered for only a moment and replied smoothly, "We need to go get briefed, our first mission is coming up."

"Okay, lets go."

They walked down the hallway swiftly and entered Coulson's office, Clint paused before entering and said, "This is Coulson's office, he's our handler and a good friend of mine." Natasha nodded and they entered their handlers office. Coulson looked up and waved them over to the seats across from his desk.

"Okay, so the target is a drug transport, just blow it up without getting caught. I'm keeping it easy for your first mission Agent Romanoff so don't screw this up. You leave in two hours." With that Coulson dismissed them.

"So ready to kick some butt!?" Clint exclaimed with a smirk. Natasha stared back with a glint in her eyes he hadn't seen before. "Oh yeah." With that they went their separate ways and prepared their mission packs. Clint brought his usual: Bow, regular arrows, specialty arrows, change of cloths, and his assortment of passports. Natasha went into her new quarters to see what she had. She found another black uniform, a duffel bag, two pistols, a semi-automatic machine gun, small tazers labeled "Widows Bite", and an assortment of passports. She put everything into her duffel bag and went out to find Barton. She wanted to learn the ropes quickly so that she would have a lot of freedom. She left her small quarters and made her way to where the signs said the deck was and waited by a transport, figuring that was where Barton would end up if he wasn't already there. She was standing there when suddenly she felt a presence behind her. She spun around and within a millisecond her attacker was down and in a choke hold. It took a moment for her to process the face and realize it was Barton and let go. When he was free he remarked, "Damn Tasha, we're not enemies anymore, remember?"

"Don't sneak up on me like that," was the only response she gave him before climbing up into the closest transport, giving the pilot the coordinates, and sitting down. "So this is how this partnership is going to go...' Clint thought to himself before climbing right up behind her.


End file.
